Updates, advisories and surprises

(4:24 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Upscale retailer Nordstrom Inc.
JWN, -1.54%
reported late Thursday second-quarter net income fell to $105 million, or 48 cents a share, from $143 million, or 65 cents, a year ago. Net sales for the three months ended Aug. 1 fell 6% to $2.14 billion as shoppers hit by the recession tightened their purse strings. Same-store sales for the quarter fell 9.8% from a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet Research had, on average, expected Nordstrom to post earnings of 47 cents a share on $2.15 billion in sales. Nordstrom, citing a stronger second-quarter than it expected, raised its full-year per-share earnings outlook to $1.50 to $1.65 from $1.25 to $1.50, previously. Shares of Seattle-based company rose 34 cents ahead of the report to close at $29.76. The stock has gained 123% since the start of the year, putting it back at year-ago levels.

Ticketmaster posts drop in second-quarter profit

(4:15 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc.
TKTM
said late Thursday that its second-quarter profit fell to $6.9 million, or 12 cents a share, from $23 million, or 41 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue fell to $355.1 million from $382.4 million last year.

Devry: fiscal-fourth quarter profit up 43%

(4:09 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- DeVry Inc.
DV, +2.98%
said late Thursday that its fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose to $37 million, or 51 cents a share, from $24.6 million, or 34 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $396.2 million from $276.8 million last year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research estimated a quarterly profit of 50 cents a share on revenue of $376 million.

Morgan Keegan upgrades Tellabs to outperform

(12:07 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tellabs Inc.
TLAB
shares rose 7% to $6.67 Thursday after Morgan Keegan analysts led by Simon Leopold upgraded the communications equipment company to outperform from market perform. Tellabs' improving data networking business and optical margin can yield better-than-expected financial results, according to the note published Wednesday. The analysts' 2010 calendar year earnings estimates rose to 32 cents a share from 22 cents a share, above analysts' consensus of 26 cents a share. Tellabs' focus on ethernet and optical gear production has boosted sales and gross margins, analysts said.

Deutsche hikes Interpublic to buy on U.S. recovery

(12:07 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Interpublic Group Inc.
IPG, +0.19%
shares rose 6.9% to $6.41 Thursday after Deutsche Bank analysts led by Matt Chesler upgraded the advertisement firm to buy from hold, citing revenue recovery and margin upside as the U.S. economy recovers. The analysts increased Interpublic's target price to $7.00 from $5.50 in the note published Wednesday. "While near-term datapoints are not good and IPG is no quick fix, the precursor to bridging the margin gap is closer now," according to the note. Analysts said as the ad market recovers, Interpublic will "resume the progress of restoring margins to competitive levels."

Estee Lauder swings to loss on charges

(7:58 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Estee Lauder Cos.
EL, +0.26%
said Thursday that it swung to a fiscal fourth-quarter loss of $17.9 million, or 9 cents a share, from a year-earlier profit of $120.2 million, or 61 cents a share. Sales in the three months ended June 30 fell 16% to $1.68 billion. Excluding restructuring charges, the company said it would have earned 20 cents a share in the latest period. Analysts, on average, expected Estee Lauder to earn 20 cents a share, according to FactSet Research. The cosmetics company said it expects to post earnings, excluding charges, of 23 cents to 30 cents a share in the first quarter and $1.55 to $1.70 for the full year. Analysts are looking for a first-quarter profit of 19 cents a share and a full-year profit of $1.70 a share, according to FactSet.

Dr Pepper Snapple posts rise in quarterly profit

(7:26 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc.
DPS, +1.28%
said Thursday that its second-quarter earnings rose to $158 million, or 62 cents a share, from $108 million, or 42 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Analysts polled by FactSet Research were looking for earnings of 50 cents a share, on average. The Plano, Texas-based beverage company said it expects to earn $2.03 to $2.11 a share for the full year, or $1.88 to $1.96 a share on an adjusted basis. Analysts' mean estimate is for full-year earnings of $1.77 a share, according to FactSet. Shares of Dr Pepper Snapple jumped more than 20% in premarket trading.

Kohl's earnings turn slightly lower, beating view

(7:16 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Kohl's Corp.
KSS, -2.41%
said Thursday that second-quarter earnings were $229 million, or 75 cents a share, compared to $236 million, or 77 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Sales were $3.8 billion, an increase of 2.2% for the quarter. Same-store sales for the quarter decreased 2.3%. Analysts polled by FactSet Research estimated earnings per share of 72 cents and sales of $3.8 billion. Kohl's guidance for fiscal 2009 is $2.59 to $2.70 per share.

Watson Wyatt's quarterly earnings fall 25%

(6:18 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Watson Wyatt Worldwide, Inc
WW
said fourth-quarter net income fell 25% to $31 million, or 73 cents a share, from $42 million, or 95 cents a share, earned in the year-earlier period. Exchange-rates had a negative impact of 10 cents a share in the latest quarter and severance expense a negative impact of 7 cents a share. The consensus forecast was for earnings of 70 cents a share, according to a poll of 8 analysts conducted by FactSet Research. Revenue declined 13% to $397 million. In fiscal 2010, the Arlington, Va.-based employee-benefits services company expects revenue in the range of $1.63 billion to $1.70 billion and adjusted earnings excluding severance and merger costs of $3.40 to $3.60 a share.

Urban Outfitters profit down 14%

(6:15 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Retailer Urban Outfitters Inc.
URBN, -1.71%
said Thursday that its second-quarter net profit fell 14% to $49 million, or 29 cents a share, from $57 million, or 33 cents a share, a year earlier. Net sales for the quarter were up 1% at $458.6 million and comparable sales across all channels were down 3%. The group said margins declined by around a quarter of a percentage point, partly due to markdowns to clear seasonal inventories. The group's overall tax rate also rose to 38.3% from 33.2% a year earlier, mainly due to tax rate hikes at certain state municipalities. Analysts polled by FactSet had been expecting earnings of 26 cents a share.

Anheuser-Busch InBev profit up, while volumes dip

(2:58 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Brewing group Anheuser-Busch InBev(BE:ABI)said Thursday that its second-quarter net profit rose 28% to $1.07 billion from $836 million. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were $3.6 billion, a 13% increased over the combined adjusted profit of Anheuser Busch and InBev a year earlier. The group said total volumes decreased 1.1% from a year earlier as a 1.5% drop in beer volumes outweighed a 3.9% rise in non-beer volumes. Analysts had been expecting an adjusted profit of $3.22 billion. Volumes were down 0.7% in North America, with a sharper 3.5% decline in Western Europe. CEO Carlos Brito said the integration of Anheuser-Busch had continued in line with the group's expectations, with the total savings in the first half of the year reaching $610 million.

Prudential operating profit slips 8%

(2:42 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. insurer Prudential(UK:PRU)
PUK, -2.58%
said Thursday that its first-half net loss widened to 254 million pounds ($419 million) from 116 million pounds a year earlier. On a European embedded value accounting basis, operating profit dropped 8% to 1.25 billion pounds, but was still ahead of the 1.16 billion pound consensus forecast from a Dow Jones Newswires poll of analysts. The group said sales declined in Asia and the U.K., but increased at its U.S. Jackson business. Net inflows at its M&G investment management unit were 8.6 billion pounds. Prudential said it will increase its interim dividend by 5% to 6.29 pence a share and added that its capital surplus at the end of July was around 3 billion pounds, before any allowance for the dividend.

Thomas Cook loss widens after swine flu costs

(2:30 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. travel company Thomas Cook Group(UK:TCG)said Thursday that its net loss for the 9 months ended June 30 widened slightly to 175.6 million pounds ($290 million) from 174 million pounds a year earlier, while revenue grew 10.7% to 5.85 billion pounds. Excluding 107.3 million pounds of costs largely related to integrating acquired businesses as well as a 12.6 million pound charge related to the swine flu outbreak, Thomas Cook said its operating loss narrowed to 49.5 million pounds from 87.4 million pounds. The company said bookings for summer 2009 remain robust. Thomas Cook said the target set in 2007 for operating profit to reach 480 million pounds in 2010 is not realistic given the current state of the economy, but added it is well placed to achieve the market's consensus expectations for 2010.

(12:49 AM ET) HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd.(HK:1)
CHEUY
said Thursday its net profit for the first half of the year rose 5% to 11.52 billion Hong Kong dollars ($1.49 billion), or 4.97 Hong Kong dollars a share, from 10.97 billion Hong Kong dollars, or 4.74 Hong Kong dollars a share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue for the six months through June was 15.54 billion Hong Kong dollars, compared to 12.44 billion Hong Kong dollars in the first half of 2008. The company declared an interim dividend of 50 Hong Kong cents a share, unchanged from a year ago.

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